


Thankless Work

by thrillingsentience



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: Angst, Gen, Link needs a hug, Self-Doubt, and sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26627425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thrillingsentience/pseuds/thrillingsentience
Summary: Link didn’t expect a ‘thank you’ or a grandiose celebration in his honor after all of this was done.He didn’t want one.(a one-shot of Link knowing the fact that, at the end of the day, no one will remember him).
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Thankless Work

**Author's Note:**

> Replaying Majora's Mask gave me feels, so I had to write about them
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy, comments are appreciated!

How does one stay motivated in a world lacking motivation?

The answer is, you don’t.

Or, at least you _try_. Try and hold onto that motivation as long as you can, but time is slipping and motivation is not too far behind it.

Link was trying. Oh Gods, was he trying. He had been trying for three days straight over the course of several cycles, rewinds, and resets. He witnessed the same circumstances over and over, the same struggles, the same patterns, the same devastation - when everything’s the same, and there’s no break in the pattern, keeping his mind on track felt like a losing battle. Motivation was a tricky thing - a muse that came and went - something that Link tried to grab onto for as long as possible, but only managed to actually hold for a short period.

If anything, the moon was motivation enough.

A looming, snarling face that was always within eyesight, for it took up most of the sky. It was hard _not_ to look at. An inky, dark blot on an otherwise clean canvas. It was _distracting_. An omen of destruction, despair, _death_. Link couldn’t avoid it, that angry moon was always hanging above him. Even inside houses and caves and temples, where the moon was out of sight, he could still feel its scrutinizing, wrathful eye smothering him - as if it was practicing for the final day. 

If _that_ wasn’t a motivator, Link didn’t know what was.

But he was slowing down. He could feel it in his bones, with how they groaned and ached with every step taken, or how sitting down on anything - a rock, a fence, the grass - felt like the best thing in the world. He could feel the restlessness in his eyes, as well, for they stung from every sleepless night, and how each blink turned into a short few-second nap. 

A moment of calm, even if it was for a second, was a blissful dream. Relaxation could wait, Link had learned, for time was always fleeting. He had to stay on track. He had to remember not only _his_ schedule, but the schedule of everyone else around him. He couldn’t miss dates or planned meetings, he had to remeet people and kickstart the same interactions that would benefit him, and he would _not_ let someone he promised to help waiting. It always felt like he needed an extra minute, an extra hour, just an extra _anything_ that’d let him sit down for a short spell, but it would never come. Not while that moon was still there.

“You doing alright?”

Link was pulled out of his stupor by a tiny voice and he slowly turned an eye towards the fairy that was lazily floating beside him.

It was one of the rare moments where Tatl actually showed any sort of care towards him. Usually the fairy was distant and sarcastic, cracking crude jokes as they traveled and silently making fun of passersby whilst perched atop Link’s shoulder. Link knew that under her rough exterior, she actually cared a lot about those around her, she just had a hard time showing it. Her affection was concealed behind words that came off as a snide quip or sarcastic remark, and it would take a second after receiving such praise to realize that she was actually being _sincere_. 

So when the kindness was clear and aimed towards _him,_ it always gave Link a moment of pause before realizing the fairy was, indeed, talking to him. 

“I’m fine,” Link said flatly. He had been content with zoning out while on Epona’s back, but after getting lost in his own thoughts and emotions, talking about his _feelings_ with Tatl was the least appealing thing at the moment. “Just want to get to the canyon before noon.”

He hoped Tatl picked up on his disinterest with the conversation, usually the fairy was good at noticing emotional cues and rolling with it, but that trait had often turned out to be a double-sided sword.

Tatl obviously didn’t care for his uninterested reply, for she flew in front of him, keeping up pace with the horse’s steady gait. If she were any closer, Link would’ve noticed through the fairy’s yellow glow that her hands were now placed on her hips. There was a bite to her tone, like a mother chastising a child, or an annoyed sister. “Don’t get all brooding and distant with me, Link! We’re almost done with this whole mess, isn’t that enough to get at least _somewhat_ excited about?”

Link raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, maybe _excited_ was the wrong word - I’m not expecting you to _jump for joy_ or anything - but don’t you feel just a little bit relieved? This could be our last cycle!”

Link gave a noncommittal shrug. He _had_ felt that way in the past, after seeing the swamp cleared and the Giants saved. Or the Goron tribe unthawed, and the Zora’s eggs returned. All of those had been huge accomplishments at the time. He had helped people, he had made them happy, got to see them get better and healthier because of what he had done. In doing so, made _Link_ feel better, too. Like all this hard work actually meant something for once.

But that all changed after learning that _everything_ reset after each cycle. Link’s optimism - _which was running low on supply even before he entered Termina -_ had begun to turn to pessimism. The swamp had become poisoned again, the mountain was still suffering a major blizzard, and that poor Zora, Lulu, was still mourning the loss of her eggs. It was torture, seeing the ones he’s helped become helpless again, especially after witnessing their smiling faces not even a day ago.

It was, for a lack of better words, _demotivating_. It only fueled the fire of hopeless thoughts that restlessly stirred within him.

If the places were still cursed, the temples and ruins Link visited still haunted, then how does he know all his effort was worth something? For all he knew, the Giants were still trapped as prisoners within their own shrines, unable to be called upon to stop the moon from falling, because they were waiting for him to save them. It seemed like that’s what everything in Termina did - wait. Waited for Link to show up, waited for time to pass, waited to _die_. 

Link was trying to ride the winds of hope. Hope that he was taking the right path, and all of his struggles meant _something_ \- even if it was the smallest ounce of worth, he’d take it. He just had to believe that all was well, that even if the world had reset, his work had made a difference. He hoped fate and luck would finally have his back for once.

Link was surprised that out of the duo, he was the first one to give up optimism. Tatl, with her somewhat cynical view, would have been the obvious choice to go down the road of pessimism after one too many hopeless turns. Not _him -_ not the one that had been donned a hero, the one that was supposed to fix the world’s problems. But her words had gotten to Link, and he couldn’t help but _think_ _about it._

He suddenly wanted to bombard Tatl with all the questions that had been troubling him for so long, to put his struggles out on the line and tell her _No, I’m not fine. I’m_ really _not fine. Because, what if… everything we’ve done was all for nothing?_ Because why, _why_ didn’t she seem more affected by this seemingly endless loop they were both trapped in? Why couldn’t she show more fear, more worry, more desperation? Why did it seem like he was the only one to suffer these thoughts? Why did she seem _okay_ with this burden? 

But if Link knew anything, hiding feelings was a reflexive impulse. It was a habit he had picked up in a previous journey against time. He figured Tatl knew the same, but was just better at concealing than he was. 

So Link did like he’d always done and pushed down those troubling thoughts and continued on. He didn’t want to worry Tatl with all the mess in his head. He knew that his and the fairy’s relationship didn’t thrive off of heart-to-hearts. The one thing Link and Tatl had in common was that they were both too stubborn for their own good to actually confess to one another about what was wrong. All they could do was ask if they were okay and hope the other would partake in the impossible that was _talking things out_. 

After a moment, Link only said a simple statement. One that he knew both he _and_ Tatl had thought time and time again.

“I _hope_ this is the last cycle.”

Tatl didn’t reply, she only fell silent as she kept bobbing and drifting in the air around Link - she seemed to be lost in thought, an activity that was becoming more common for the both of them as their time together in Termina stretched out. In the conversation’s absence, the ambient noises of the field took its place - what was once spoken words were now chirps of grasshoppers and the whistle of wind between the thick stocks of grass. The caws and songs of birds overhead broke apart the monotonous melody, but the sounds died as the valley grew closer.

Tatl had stayed silent the entire way as the grass of Termina Field slowly began to fade into harsh, orange rock. The openness of the plain had turned into a more claustrophobic valley, with towering walls of sandstone that flanked the path Epona trotted down, her hooves echoing throughout the cavernous mouth of the canyon. The sun felt even hotter here, like it was burning down tenfold onto the sand below and cooking the already sunbaked Earth and Link along with it. 

This was Ikana Canyon, and it was _daunting_. 

That was when Tatl spoke up, when the wall of a cliff that cut their path horizontally came into view. Link didn’t turn to look at her, instead staring at the cliffside ahead, squinting up at the blue sky turned hazy from the yellow sand that had been swept up and carried by the rough breeze. Tatl’s words cut through the air, as if she were speaking it right into his ear - and knowing her, that was certainly a possibility. 

“We won’t know unless we keep trying.”

She was right, he had to admit. He had to keep trying and trying until he got the results he wanted. Even if the task seemed bigger than him - _like saving the world, for example_ \- he had to _try_ , for he knew that if he didn’t take up the mantle, no one else would. The burden always fell onto his shoulders, and his shoulders alone. It was the curse of a noble heart.

For someone that could control the will of time, Link had no clue what the future looked like. He didn’t know if it would be a bleak, barren wasteland with a crushed moon in its center - or if it would actually be a happy ending with the world of Termina saved and no one knowing, or even bothering to know, who had saved it.

Link had often felt like a ghost in Termina. It was a befitting title for a world so accustomed to death. He felt like a shadow working in the sidelines to prevent tragedy. A silent, unknown hero that would disappear without a trace after completing his task - _it wouldn’t be the first time._ Or maybe, no one would know there was someone trying to stop the moon. They would write it down as it simply going away on its own - or that the Giants had come to the rescue. No one would know the plight of the small, tired hero that had been working and _trying_ his hardest to make sure everything fell into place and that the world didn’t end in three days.

Link didn’t expect a ‘thank you’ or a grandiose celebration in his honor after all of this was done. 

He didn’t want one _._

He’d rather his trials remain silent, like a whispered tale or an urban legend passed along school children. It made goodbyes easier. He just liked seeing people not being in danger - not threatened by kings of evil or hateful moons. His reward enough was just being able to drop the hero’s title after all was said and done, and continue on trying to recover whatever semblance of a life he had before. Hyrule was no different than Termina in a way that they had both housed a hero that time would soon forget.

So Link kept trying, even if it seemed like the odds were stacked against his favor, he tried. Like Tatl had said, he was more than likely one cycle away from finally putting this adventure to rest, and in that moment, he had found his motivator again. One that wasn’t fueled by fear or desperation, but instead a strong drive to make things right - to put out good in this world, even if it was so bent on ruining it.

He was also motivated by Tatl, the one person who had been by his side during this whole mess, who didn’t run from danger, but instead yelled in the face of it. He hadn’t expected to grow such a strong friendship with her, especially not after their first meeting, but they grew to be partners, even going as far as having each others backs. So if it wasn’t for the land of Termina, to help these people that _oh so_ needed his assistance, it was for Tatl - his companion, his _friend._

Though, he’d never, _ever_ let her know that. He’d die in his grave before telling her any of that. Her ego was big enough as is, and she would _never_ let him forget about it if she ever found out. 

He shot the fairy in question a look, wondering what she was thinking about their whole situation. Was she upset like he was? Or was she relieved, like she had figured he would be? He couldn’t garner any details from her that would give him any sort of idea of how she was feeling, for she was floating too far away - only a mere smudge of yellow light at this distance. He set his eyes back onto the path in front of him, before responding.

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” 

Link gave Epona’s reins a quick jostle, and her pace soon quickened from a steady trot to a full gallop. She took off down the pathway with Link in tow and Tatl rushing to catch up not too far behind them, a trail of red dust kicking up in their wake. The cliffside at the end of the trail grew closer and closer, and with each passing second, so did the end of their journey. 

Three days to save the world. An endless number of reset cycles to do so in. And a million more reasons to just give up.

Motivation was hard to keep, but Link had always managed.

**Author's Note:**

> Majora's Mask will always be my favorite Zelda game, it's such a beautiful tragedy
> 
> This could be read as a sorta sequel to my previous Majora's Mask fic, 'Procrastination', but it doesn't have to be.


End file.
